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As the Stetson football team prepares to return to the gridiron this fall for the teams’ second season, the Hatters have joined forces with the Stetson cheerleaders to create an event to raise money for charity.

The Hatters and Stetson cheerleaders will hold a midnight run on the evening of August 23 and they are inviting everyone in the community to join them. The run, which started last August as a team-building exercise, will begin at the Athletic Training Complex.

“We did this midnight run thing back in May, and it was just the football team as a team-building activity,” sophomore quarterback and team captain Ryan Tentler said. “It went so well that I thought it would be a great idea to get everyone in the community, the fans and the student body, involved.”

Tentler said the suggestion to make it a fund-raising event came from the cheer squad captain, Maranda Altilio.

“Maranda called and said they were looking to do a fundraiser so we came up with the idea of them joining with us and turning it into a fundraiser,” Tentler said.

The run will start at the ATC on campus, and will go down Amelia Avenue to Spec Martin Memorial Stadium. At the stadium the run will pause for a quick team meeting before returning, via Woodland Boulevard, to the Stetson campus and the ATC.

Altilio said the cheer squad was looking for a way to give back to the community, and partnering with the football team seemed the perfect way to do that. The event will raise money to support the Wounded Warrior Project.

“I’m excited about it because it’s a good way to shine a light on a group that needs and deserves our attention,” Altilio said. “It also gives us a chance to bring the community together with the football and cheer teams.”

The group has set up an event information page online that provides contact info as well as how to get involved in the run.